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Ballad of the Bone Road
Port Astor is a city of secrets. Once home to the Hollow Queen and her court, the fae have been driven out by industrialists and religious leaders. But just below the surface, their legacy remains in traceries of hidden roads, strange apparitions and spectral hauntings.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators, clearing out Port Astor's ghosts and devouring its demons. Both have their own Bellefeather shares her body with a demon, Belezial; Brix has trapped the ghost of his fiancée in the world of the living, unwilling to let her go.
When Brix is asked to investigate an apparent haunting at the prestigious Peony Hotel, he comes across a young couple tangled up in one of the city's most infamous stories. They have summoned the ghost of Jimmy Valentine, tragic movie star and supposed favorite of the Hollow Queen herself. Meanwhile, Bellefeather is called back to her childhood home by her estranged sister, whose preacher husband Clarence has gotten a young woman from his congregation pregnant. But when Bellefeather arrives, she realizes whatever has taken over Clarence and his 'flock' is more sinister than faith, and Ava's is no normal pregnancy.
The fae have not forgotten that Port Astor once belonged to them. And the Hollow Queen won't give up her kingdom so easily.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators, clearing out Port Astor's ghosts and devouring its demons. Both have their own Bellefeather shares her body with a demon, Belezial; Brix has trapped the ghost of his fiancée in the world of the living, unwilling to let her go.
When Brix is asked to investigate an apparent haunting at the prestigious Peony Hotel, he comes across a young couple tangled up in one of the city's most infamous stories. They have summoned the ghost of Jimmy Valentine, tragic movie star and supposed favorite of the Hollow Queen herself. Meanwhile, Bellefeather is called back to her childhood home by her estranged sister, whose preacher husband Clarence has gotten a young woman from his congregation pregnant. But when Bellefeather arrives, she realizes whatever has taken over Clarence and his 'flock' is more sinister than faith, and Ava's is no normal pregnancy.
The fae have not forgotten that Port Astor once belonged to them. And the Hollow Queen won't give up her kingdom so easily.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2026
13 people are currently reading
1201 people want to read
About the author
A.C. Wise
165 books417 followersA.C. Wise's fiction has appeared in publications such as Uncanny, Shimmer, and Tor.com, among other places. She had two collections published with Lethe Press, and a novella published by Broken Eye Books. Her debut novel, Wendy, Darling, is out from Titan Books n June 2021, and a new collection, The Ghost Sequences, is forthcoming from Undertow Books in October 2021. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as being a two-time Nebula finalist, a two-time Sunburst finalist, an Aurora finalist, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. In addition to her fiction, she contributes review columns to the Book Smugglers and Apex Magazine, and has been a finalist for the Ignyte Award in the Critics category.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via Titan Books.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a dark, gothic read for fans of the paranormal.
Bellefeather (Belle) and Brix are partners of a paranormal investigators business and take on cases of the unusual and haunted.
When they receive a case at the prestigious Peony Hotel where a whole room has disappeared, the pair know its just the case they want. But Belles demon Belezial (whom she shares her body with) is more than reluctant to go into the hotel - he's petrified. As Belle grapples with protecting them and what could scare them so much, her estranged sister turns up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with a strange tale of her own.
I loved the uniqueness and quirky nature of this book and although it took me a while to wrap my head around as it did read like it was a sequel to another book, I thoroughly enjoyed it once I got my teeth into it.
The two main characters have their own trauma and personal struggles to deal with and face along with the two separate cases they get divided on that draw together towards the end of the book. I'd love to read more of these characters as there is a potential there to expand this into a series.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a dark, gothic read for fans of the paranormal.
Bellefeather (Belle) and Brix are partners of a paranormal investigators business and take on cases of the unusual and haunted.
When they receive a case at the prestigious Peony Hotel where a whole room has disappeared, the pair know its just the case they want. But Belles demon Belezial (whom she shares her body with) is more than reluctant to go into the hotel - he's petrified. As Belle grapples with protecting them and what could scare them so much, her estranged sister turns up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with a strange tale of her own.
I loved the uniqueness and quirky nature of this book and although it took me a while to wrap my head around as it did read like it was a sequel to another book, I thoroughly enjoyed it once I got my teeth into it.
The two main characters have their own trauma and personal struggles to deal with and face along with the two separate cases they get divided on that draw together towards the end of the book. I'd love to read more of these characters as there is a potential there to expand this into a series.
Did Not Finish
October 31, 2025DNF @ 24%
I love Gothic fiction for its dark and dreary atmosphere and its morally gray characters. I expect to bask in the utterly depressing setting and feel a sense of heaviness as I work my way through the novel.
But this book wasn't it. This felt like I was reading any other paranormal urban fantasy novel with ghosts and demons. The worldbuilding mentioned the Gilded Age mixed with an urban fantasy US setting. There was a thorough description of a haunted hotel.
But that was about it. I was not immersed at all. I felt nothing. Gothic vibes where???
The characters, both in the past and present, were very blah. Their introductions felt like I was watching the pilot of a network or Netflix TV show that'll get cancelled after one season. This isn't HBO Max, that's for sure.
Minus the sex scenes, this was very YA dressed up as adult. Not my favorite. I expect my adult reads to be a lot more deeper and this felt very surface level.
Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for this arc.
I love Gothic fiction for its dark and dreary atmosphere and its morally gray characters. I expect to bask in the utterly depressing setting and feel a sense of heaviness as I work my way through the novel.
But this book wasn't it. This felt like I was reading any other paranormal urban fantasy novel with ghosts and demons. The worldbuilding mentioned the Gilded Age mixed with an urban fantasy US setting. There was a thorough description of a haunted hotel.
But that was about it. I was not immersed at all. I felt nothing. Gothic vibes where???
The characters, both in the past and present, were very blah. Their introductions felt like I was watching the pilot of a network or Netflix TV show that'll get cancelled after one season. This isn't HBO Max, that's for sure.
Minus the sex scenes, this was very YA dressed up as adult. Not my favorite. I expect my adult reads to be a lot more deeper and this felt very surface level.
Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for this arc.
October 30, 2025
Everything about the premise of Ballad of the Bone Road was intriguing to me. A pair of paranormal investigators, one can't let go of his dead fiancee's ghost, the other has an actual demon inside of her, investigating the return of a dead movie star and a very possibly paranormal cult pregnancy - I mean, yes please. Also, the cover is absolutely delicious.
In the end, I wasn't completely enamoured with the way this cool premise unfolds throughout the story. I quite liked both protagonists, Brix and Belleweather, and I liked the way their personal traumas are integral to the story. Belleweather especially hit me hard, her past is gutwrenchingly sad and horrible. I definitely enjoyed her more than Brix, but honestly, neither of them are really that memorable in the end. The writing is solid and it's a generally fast-paced story that you can easily breeze through on a relaxed weekend or so, and I liked the overall vibes of a town once inhabited by the fae and still full of ghosts and demons just waiting to enter our plane. I liked the concept of the Bone Road and the ghosts, especially. I was really intrigued by the mysteries presented to us at first, too.
Sadly, I didn't find the plot all too interesting after a while, and that's mostly because I felt like there was just too much happening. It felt convoluted at a certain point. Add to that some weird sex scenes that could have been cool I'm sure but felt mostly disrupting (especially the ones between Belle and her demon) as well as some rather choppy relationship development on a whole. For example, one of the two mysteries surrounds the deceased movie star Jimmy Valentine whose ghost gets summoned by a horny couple of youngsters staying in the most haunted hotel in town. He's probably the most interesting and tragic character in the whole book and the one I genuinely loved, but this entire plotline and later developments hinges on a love story between him and those two young people, especially the woman, that simply didn't feel believable because all we actually saw of them was the lust and the intrigue, not any kind of emotional connection. Which sadly meant that the way Leonie, the woman, later acts just didn't feel organic because all we got was a tell, don't show of her feelings.
The Big Bad was also barely explored at all so I wasn't interested in her downfall.
On a more personal note, our pair of investigators barely work together and mostly have their separate storylines, which I simply didn't expect and wasn't a fan of.
So in conclusion, I really liked the premise, the themes and the vibes, there are some great ideas and Jimmy Valentine deserves to LIVE alright. But the rest of the book, the characters, the relationships, the plots just didn't work for me. I'm sure it will find its fans though!
Many thanks to and Netgalley for the arc!
In the end, I wasn't completely enamoured with the way this cool premise unfolds throughout the story. I quite liked both protagonists, Brix and Belleweather, and I liked the way their personal traumas are integral to the story. Belleweather especially hit me hard, her past is gutwrenchingly sad and horrible. I definitely enjoyed her more than Brix, but honestly, neither of them are really that memorable in the end. The writing is solid and it's a generally fast-paced story that you can easily breeze through on a relaxed weekend or so, and I liked the overall vibes of a town once inhabited by the fae and still full of ghosts and demons just waiting to enter our plane. I liked the concept of the Bone Road and the ghosts, especially. I was really intrigued by the mysteries presented to us at first, too.
Sadly, I didn't find the plot all too interesting after a while, and that's mostly because I felt like there was just too much happening. It felt convoluted at a certain point. Add to that some weird sex scenes that could have been cool I'm sure but felt mostly disrupting (especially the ones between Belle and her demon) as well as some rather choppy relationship development on a whole. For example, one of the two mysteries surrounds the deceased movie star Jimmy Valentine whose ghost gets summoned by a horny couple of youngsters staying in the most haunted hotel in town. He's probably the most interesting and tragic character in the whole book and the one I genuinely loved, but this entire plotline and later developments hinges on a love story between him and those two young people, especially the woman, that simply didn't feel believable because all we actually saw of them was the lust and the intrigue, not any kind of emotional connection. Which sadly meant that the way Leonie, the woman, later acts just didn't feel organic because all we got was a tell, don't show of her feelings.
The Big Bad was also barely explored at all so I wasn't interested in her downfall.
On a more personal note, our pair of investigators barely work together and mostly have their separate storylines, which I simply didn't expect and wasn't a fan of.
So in conclusion, I really liked the premise, the themes and the vibes, there are some great ideas and Jimmy Valentine deserves to LIVE alright. But the rest of the book, the characters, the relationships, the plots just didn't work for me. I'm sure it will find its fans though!
Many thanks to and Netgalley for the arc!
November 2, 2025
*2.5/5
this book wasn't at all what i was expecting. my first time reading a book by this author and it wasn't the best time. 🫣
the character i loved following the most was definitely brix. i thought he had the most thought provoking inner monologues and battles. the love story between him and abigail was quite melancholic, i enjoyed it.
i liked following the others' perspectives at the beginning, but from 35-40% of the book till the end, i was quite bored unfortunately... they didn't really stand out for me.
the writing style wasn't really engaging as well, i read the book fast, but i was definitely not hooked or finding myself dying to pick it up.
also the amount of times the word 'luv' was mentioned. 😭
the whole plot with the hollow queen wasn't really well played out. it only appeared almost at the end of the book, but for the most part it felt like a build up for something, and then it just happened to be quite underwhelming... i didn't really care for it.
i enjoyed the beginning of the story when we were kinda trying to figure out what was going on still, but the more i read, the more i didn't care anymore.
the ending was just okay, i didn't mind it, but i wanted some sort of plot twists or something intriguing to happen at least, but i got none of that.
i personally can't recommend reading this, it just wasn't really my cup of tea.
this book wasn't at all what i was expecting. my first time reading a book by this author and it wasn't the best time. 🫣
the character i loved following the most was definitely brix. i thought he had the most thought provoking inner monologues and battles. the love story between him and abigail was quite melancholic, i enjoyed it.
i liked following the others' perspectives at the beginning, but from 35-40% of the book till the end, i was quite bored unfortunately... they didn't really stand out for me.
the writing style wasn't really engaging as well, i read the book fast, but i was definitely not hooked or finding myself dying to pick it up.
also the amount of times the word 'luv' was mentioned. 😭
the whole plot with the hollow queen wasn't really well played out. it only appeared almost at the end of the book, but for the most part it felt like a build up for something, and then it just happened to be quite underwhelming... i didn't really care for it.
i enjoyed the beginning of the story when we were kinda trying to figure out what was going on still, but the more i read, the more i didn't care anymore.
the ending was just okay, i didn't mind it, but i wanted some sort of plot twists or something intriguing to happen at least, but i got none of that.
i personally can't recommend reading this, it just wasn't really my cup of tea.
January 27, 2026
Review originally on JamReads
Ballad of the Bone Road is a standalone dark fantasy novel written by A.C. Wise, published by Titan Books. A mysterious spectral story articulated around the fascinating city of Port Astor, playing with a setting where magical beings are gone from memory, but still remnants are haunting the place; in that setting is where our two characters run an agency dealing with the supernatural being.
Bellefeather (Belle) and Brix are partners in taking cases of the paranormal business, about the unusual and the haunted. When they receive a case at the prestigious Peony Hotel where a whole room has disappeared, they know this is the case they were looking for; however, Belle's demon Belezial (they share a body with Belle), is reluctant to enter, so she decides to take another lane of investigation, to understand what's making Belezial so scared. While Brix continues investigating the mystery behind the hotel and how it is related to the ghost of Jimmy Valentine, Belle's estranged sister calls her back home. But there's more behind the call, as preacher Clarence and his flock are under the influence of something more sinister than faith; a new proof that the fae are still reluctant to leave Port Astor.
Brix and Belle are two sides of the same coin: both are carrying in their own way with grief and demons; at the end, this is a book about how difficult is to let things go, and the main characters are the best example of it. The author does a marvelous job of fleshing out these characters, making us care for their struggles and suffer when they are in danger.
The novel is structured into two seemingly disjointed storylines that end up converging together in a kinda chaotic way: it is impactful when it happens, so I recommend just trust the process. The setting is definitely one of my favourite aspects of the book, how it blends together the Gilded Age atmosphere with the uncanniness of those magic remains; all paired with an almost lyrical prose that suits well the themes of this book.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a great novel, one that you will love if you are into paranormal themes and wish to read a quirky but still compelling character duo; a really enjoyable standalone novel by A.C. Wise!
Ballad of the Bone Road is a standalone dark fantasy novel written by A.C. Wise, published by Titan Books. A mysterious spectral story articulated around the fascinating city of Port Astor, playing with a setting where magical beings are gone from memory, but still remnants are haunting the place; in that setting is where our two characters run an agency dealing with the supernatural being.
Bellefeather (Belle) and Brix are partners in taking cases of the paranormal business, about the unusual and the haunted. When they receive a case at the prestigious Peony Hotel where a whole room has disappeared, they know this is the case they were looking for; however, Belle's demon Belezial (they share a body with Belle), is reluctant to enter, so she decides to take another lane of investigation, to understand what's making Belezial so scared. While Brix continues investigating the mystery behind the hotel and how it is related to the ghost of Jimmy Valentine, Belle's estranged sister calls her back home. But there's more behind the call, as preacher Clarence and his flock are under the influence of something more sinister than faith; a new proof that the fae are still reluctant to leave Port Astor.
Brix and Belle are two sides of the same coin: both are carrying in their own way with grief and demons; at the end, this is a book about how difficult is to let things go, and the main characters are the best example of it. The author does a marvelous job of fleshing out these characters, making us care for their struggles and suffer when they are in danger.
The novel is structured into two seemingly disjointed storylines that end up converging together in a kinda chaotic way: it is impactful when it happens, so I recommend just trust the process. The setting is definitely one of my favourite aspects of the book, how it blends together the Gilded Age atmosphere with the uncanniness of those magic remains; all paired with an almost lyrical prose that suits well the themes of this book.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a great novel, one that you will love if you are into paranormal themes and wish to read a quirky but still compelling character duo; a really enjoyable standalone novel by A.C. Wise!
February 7, 2026
“Where grief meets ghosts, and folklore refuses to stay buried.”
🗓 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: January 27, 2026
📚 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Ballad of the Bone Road
👑 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: A. C. Wise
✨️𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 & 🍵𝗧𝗲𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
A haunted city, paranormal investigators, and fae legends that are absolutely not just fairy tales. A mysterious case drags our leads into ghost lore, old magic, and secrets that refuse to stay dead, literally. The vibes are gothic, atmospheric, and very much “this city knows your trauma and is judging you for it.”
This was such a mood read. It leans heavy into eerie folklore, found family tension, and slow-burn emotional damage. The worldbuilding feels cinematic and layered, and the ghost lore scratches that spooky booktok itch. Some pacing dips a bit in the middle, but the atmosphere and character dynamics kept me locked in. Definitely a solid pick for fans of dark fantasy, paranormal mystery, and folklore retellings with emotional weight.
🫶 Thank you to @titanbooks for this gifted copy!
👻 Paranormal investigation
🌫️ Haunted city vibes
🧚 Fae folklore and mythology
💔 Grief and emotional healing
🕯️ Gothic atmosphere
🤝 Found family chaos
🗓 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: January 27, 2026
📚 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Ballad of the Bone Road
👑 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: A. C. Wise
✨️𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 & 🍵𝗧𝗲𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
A haunted city, paranormal investigators, and fae legends that are absolutely not just fairy tales. A mysterious case drags our leads into ghost lore, old magic, and secrets that refuse to stay dead, literally. The vibes are gothic, atmospheric, and very much “this city knows your trauma and is judging you for it.”
This was such a mood read. It leans heavy into eerie folklore, found family tension, and slow-burn emotional damage. The worldbuilding feels cinematic and layered, and the ghost lore scratches that spooky booktok itch. Some pacing dips a bit in the middle, but the atmosphere and character dynamics kept me locked in. Definitely a solid pick for fans of dark fantasy, paranormal mystery, and folklore retellings with emotional weight.
🫶 Thank you to @titanbooks for this gifted copy!
👻 Paranormal investigation
🌫️ Haunted city vibes
🧚 Fae folklore and mythology
💔 Grief and emotional healing
🕯️ Gothic atmosphere
🤝 Found family chaos
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2026
This cover definitely caught my attention, and the blurb seemed intriguing. The surprise smut was a huge turn off though (pun intended). I probably should have DNFed but I liked the writing style. I pushed through because I'm trying to read more out of my comfort zone - yet, I don't know why LOL. I should stick to what I know I like.
April 21, 2026
Lackluster. There was no anticipation, no thrill. So many intriguing ideas, a haunted hotel, an evil fae queen, a religious cult, two paranormal investigators, one housing a demon inside her body. It was all thrown together into a story that tasted like nothing. You don’t sympathize with the characters. Except for their trauma they have nothing to offer emotionally, everyone is hurting, in fact it’s the only thing you learn about them and mentioning it over and over again didn’t make me feel more connected to them.
The ending felt rushed and i was glad when it was over.
The ending felt rushed and i was glad when it was over.
April 24, 2026
I picked up Ballad of the Bone Road when I was in London, after coming across it by accident when I was searching through the recent fantasy and sci fi releases on the Waterstones website. This has probably been the most bizarre book I've read in a long while, if ever.
As a lover of gothic fantasy, The Ballad of the Bone Road is a darkly atmospheric, immersive story that blends horror, mystery, and complex characters into a haunting narrative. The writing style itself is richly lyrical that gives a sense of mood and place that is eerie and incredibly intriguing.
The novel follows two paranormal investigators-Sydney Brix and Bellefeather (Belle), each with their own traumatic pasts, and carrying their own grief and demons--Brix refusing to move on and let the spirit of his dead fiancee move on and Belle literally sharing her body with a demon who is her companion and "lover" at the same time. At the end, this is a book about how difficult is to let the past go, and the main characters serve as the best example of it. Moreover, their emotional struggles and baggage carry a weight that permeates throughout the book.
The story begins 8 months into the past with two lovestruck, broke teenagers, Leonie and Virgil, who splurge on a room at the infamous and haunted Peony Hotel and summon the ghost of silver screen movie star and pop idol, Jimmy Valentine who died young in a terrible car accident and whose legend is welded to the city of Port Astor. Virgil and Leonie are joined months later by Brix and Belle when a room on the Peony’s fourteenth floor seems to vanish, taking evidence and memory with it. The investigation becomes entwined with Jimmy's impossible return and the reappearance of a deadly fae queen wearing a "glass crown that digs into her skull" and "a mouth of blood and pomegranates"who feeds on human longing-what vivid and eerie imagery that perfectly encapsulates the gothic undertones of the book.
I absolutely loved the concept of the bone road living inside those "ghost-touched" such as Brix and Virgil who are sort of like grim reaper figures helping ghosts move on. It's darkly poetic.
There are definitely some darker themes one of our main characters deals with including religious abuse which added a whole other emotional layer and depth to the storyline.
This is my first book by this author and probably not my last. As a work of speculative fiction, blending gothic horror, paranormal mystery with fae bargains, atmosphere that has weight, and poetic prose complete with multi-faceted characters who wear their grief and trauma like a second skin, this is a book that will captivate while making you question what you just read.
I will say that the end was a bit anticlimactic and I did expect more? I also wish we got to see a bit more of the Hollow Queen particularly her background but she was more of an elusive figure throughout the book. Nonetheless, this was a solid 4 star read for me.
As a lover of gothic fantasy, The Ballad of the Bone Road is a darkly atmospheric, immersive story that blends horror, mystery, and complex characters into a haunting narrative. The writing style itself is richly lyrical that gives a sense of mood and place that is eerie and incredibly intriguing.
The novel follows two paranormal investigators-Sydney Brix and Bellefeather (Belle), each with their own traumatic pasts, and carrying their own grief and demons--Brix refusing to move on and let the spirit of his dead fiancee move on and Belle literally sharing her body with a demon who is her companion and "lover" at the same time. At the end, this is a book about how difficult is to let the past go, and the main characters serve as the best example of it. Moreover, their emotional struggles and baggage carry a weight that permeates throughout the book.
The story begins 8 months into the past with two lovestruck, broke teenagers, Leonie and Virgil, who splurge on a room at the infamous and haunted Peony Hotel and summon the ghost of silver screen movie star and pop idol, Jimmy Valentine who died young in a terrible car accident and whose legend is welded to the city of Port Astor. Virgil and Leonie are joined months later by Brix and Belle when a room on the Peony’s fourteenth floor seems to vanish, taking evidence and memory with it. The investigation becomes entwined with Jimmy's impossible return and the reappearance of a deadly fae queen wearing a "glass crown that digs into her skull" and "a mouth of blood and pomegranates"who feeds on human longing-what vivid and eerie imagery that perfectly encapsulates the gothic undertones of the book.
I absolutely loved the concept of the bone road living inside those "ghost-touched" such as Brix and Virgil who are sort of like grim reaper figures helping ghosts move on. It's darkly poetic.
There are definitely some darker themes one of our main characters deals with including religious abuse which added a whole other emotional layer and depth to the storyline.
This is my first book by this author and probably not my last. As a work of speculative fiction, blending gothic horror, paranormal mystery with fae bargains, atmosphere that has weight, and poetic prose complete with multi-faceted characters who wear their grief and trauma like a second skin, this is a book that will captivate while making you question what you just read.
I will say that the end was a bit anticlimactic and I did expect more? I also wish we got to see a bit more of the Hollow Queen particularly her background but she was more of an elusive figure throughout the book. Nonetheless, this was a solid 4 star read for me.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A promising premise involving paranormal investigators trying to keep a city safe from spectres, and the potential for gothic goodness, unfortunately failed to capture me.
I wasn't invested in our characters, and for some reason ghost fae were involved, although I couldn't really work out why that was necessary.
I found the ending to be fairly satisfying, but it was a shame I had to read all those pages to get to it!
A promising premise involving paranormal investigators trying to keep a city safe from spectres, and the potential for gothic goodness, unfortunately failed to capture me.
I wasn't invested in our characters, and for some reason ghost fae were involved, although I couldn't really work out why that was necessary.
I found the ending to be fairly satisfying, but it was a shame I had to read all those pages to get to it!
January 30, 2026
BWAF Score: 7/10
TL;DR: A doom-tender, weird-lyrical horror-fantasy road (and hotel) story where fae bargains, grief, and hunger-light imagery fuse into something mythic without getting lost in vibes. It lands because it actually moves, keeps its hauntings emotional, and makes “letting the dead go” feel like a knife you have to pick up yourself, on purpose.
A. C. Wise has built a long-running career in speculative fiction that blends dark fantasy, horror, and fairy-tale logic, often with a focus on longing and the costs of myth. She’s written novels like Wendy, Darling and Hooked, and she’s also known for short fiction, including the collection The Ghost Sequences. She contributes criticism as well, including a regular review column for Apex Magazine, which shows up in how sharply she understands genre machinery and emotional payoff. Her work has earned major-genre recognition, including a Sunburst Award win and finalist runs for awards like Nebula and Bram Stoker. In other words, this is a writer doing what she does best: making the fantastical intimate, and making intimacy dangerous.
Port Astor is all glitter and shadow, a city where human highways cross old fae roads and the seams never quite healed. The Peony Hotel sits right on those seams, gorgeous, notorious, and hungry, a monument to glamour that still remembers how to bite. Reading this feels like stepping into its lobby: velvet lighting, bad decisions, and the creeping certainty that the building is listening. Wise makes the city feel lived-in and cursed at the same time, like you could get a cocktail and a prophecy in the same booth, and both would cost you.
Wise tells the story in close third person, rotating primarily through Brix, Bellefeather (Belle), and the two kids who light the fuse, Virgil and Leonie. The prose is lyrical but controlled, more spell than fog machine, and it stays tonally steady even when reality starts to stutter. The intimacy matters, because the book’s core horror is not “there are monsters.” It’s “wanting something hard enough turns you into one,” and you feel that wanting in the thoughts, the small rationalizations, the moments where a character knows better and steps forward anyway.
Virgil and Leonie, young and broke and trying to feel invincible for one weekend, splurge on a room at the Peony and decide to summon Jimmy Valentine, a long-dead movie star whose legend is welded to the city. Months later, paranormal investigators Brix and Belle are pulled in when a room on the Peony’s fourteenth floor seems to vanish, taking evidence and memory with it. Their investigation tangles with Jimmy’s impossible return and a fae presence that treats human longing like an open invitation.
The Peony is a thin place where borders buckle: corridors reorient, rooms refuse to stay themselves, and the hotel can briefly become other spaces entirely. Wise choreographs horror as escalation plus aftermath. The set pieces hit, but what really sticks is what they leave behind, the way characters carry residue on their skin and in their choices, how fear becomes habit and then becomes ritual. Even the investigative beats feel infected, like answers are bait and curiosity is a door you should not open.
Pacing is one of the book’s quiet flexes. The “Eight Months Ago” chapters do real work and each return to Virgil and Leonie loads more consequence into the present. The middle stays propulsive because reveals are attached to emotion: a missing room is not only a puzzle, it’s a threat to a person’s ability to grieve honestly. Reveal timing respects suspense too. You learn enough to worry, then you learn the worst possible version later, when it can actually hurt, and when the characters are already too deep to back out cleanly.
Brix is a great anchor: competent, tired, and wrecked in a way that reads lived-in rather than performative. His grief for Abby is not treated like a stylish scar. It is an active craving that keeps trying to turn love into a system, and Wise is admirably unflinching about the selfishness that can hide inside devotion. Belle is the perfect counterweight. She’s sharp, guarded, and carrying a demon named Belizial inside her, a relationship that reads like uneasy cohabitation with a weaponized part of yourself. Their partnership works because the dialogue sounds like two people who trust each other with ugly truths, but still know where to press to get a reaction.
Underneath the hauntings, the book is about desire as a moral weather system. Virgil wants to give Leonie a miracle, and to prove he can. Leonie wants wonder without paying the full bill. Brix wants Abby back, or failing that, wants to keep her close enough that letting go never becomes real. Belle wants control over the monster in her and the monster that once tried to own her. Over all of it hangs the Hollow Queen, a figure of hunger so pure it reads like a law of nature. The emotional core lands because the book doesn’t treat “let the dead go” as a platitude. It treats it as a brutal, daily choice, and sometimes as a kind of violence you do to yourself for the sake of living.
If you’re a frequent BWAF reader, you’ve come to know my distaste for fantasy, but this is a surprising exception. My only real caveat is density. The book loves liminal logic, and if you want hard rules and clean explanations, you might feel unmoored. If you like haunted glamor, fairy-tale cruelty, and horror that keeps asking what you would sacrifice for love, this is absolutely your bone road.
Read if “haunted hotel” is your love language, especially when the building is actively pissed you’re alive.
Skip if you want big jump-scare pacing over slow, elegant dread with emotional aftertaste.
TL;DR: A doom-tender, weird-lyrical horror-fantasy road (and hotel) story where fae bargains, grief, and hunger-light imagery fuse into something mythic without getting lost in vibes. It lands because it actually moves, keeps its hauntings emotional, and makes “letting the dead go” feel like a knife you have to pick up yourself, on purpose.
A. C. Wise has built a long-running career in speculative fiction that blends dark fantasy, horror, and fairy-tale logic, often with a focus on longing and the costs of myth. She’s written novels like Wendy, Darling and Hooked, and she’s also known for short fiction, including the collection The Ghost Sequences. She contributes criticism as well, including a regular review column for Apex Magazine, which shows up in how sharply she understands genre machinery and emotional payoff. Her work has earned major-genre recognition, including a Sunburst Award win and finalist runs for awards like Nebula and Bram Stoker. In other words, this is a writer doing what she does best: making the fantastical intimate, and making intimacy dangerous.
Port Astor is all glitter and shadow, a city where human highways cross old fae roads and the seams never quite healed. The Peony Hotel sits right on those seams, gorgeous, notorious, and hungry, a monument to glamour that still remembers how to bite. Reading this feels like stepping into its lobby: velvet lighting, bad decisions, and the creeping certainty that the building is listening. Wise makes the city feel lived-in and cursed at the same time, like you could get a cocktail and a prophecy in the same booth, and both would cost you.
Wise tells the story in close third person, rotating primarily through Brix, Bellefeather (Belle), and the two kids who light the fuse, Virgil and Leonie. The prose is lyrical but controlled, more spell than fog machine, and it stays tonally steady even when reality starts to stutter. The intimacy matters, because the book’s core horror is not “there are monsters.” It’s “wanting something hard enough turns you into one,” and you feel that wanting in the thoughts, the small rationalizations, the moments where a character knows better and steps forward anyway.
Virgil and Leonie, young and broke and trying to feel invincible for one weekend, splurge on a room at the Peony and decide to summon Jimmy Valentine, a long-dead movie star whose legend is welded to the city. Months later, paranormal investigators Brix and Belle are pulled in when a room on the Peony’s fourteenth floor seems to vanish, taking evidence and memory with it. Their investigation tangles with Jimmy’s impossible return and a fae presence that treats human longing like an open invitation.
The Peony is a thin place where borders buckle: corridors reorient, rooms refuse to stay themselves, and the hotel can briefly become other spaces entirely. Wise choreographs horror as escalation plus aftermath. The set pieces hit, but what really sticks is what they leave behind, the way characters carry residue on their skin and in their choices, how fear becomes habit and then becomes ritual. Even the investigative beats feel infected, like answers are bait and curiosity is a door you should not open.
Pacing is one of the book’s quiet flexes. The “Eight Months Ago” chapters do real work and each return to Virgil and Leonie loads more consequence into the present. The middle stays propulsive because reveals are attached to emotion: a missing room is not only a puzzle, it’s a threat to a person’s ability to grieve honestly. Reveal timing respects suspense too. You learn enough to worry, then you learn the worst possible version later, when it can actually hurt, and when the characters are already too deep to back out cleanly.
Brix is a great anchor: competent, tired, and wrecked in a way that reads lived-in rather than performative. His grief for Abby is not treated like a stylish scar. It is an active craving that keeps trying to turn love into a system, and Wise is admirably unflinching about the selfishness that can hide inside devotion. Belle is the perfect counterweight. She’s sharp, guarded, and carrying a demon named Belizial inside her, a relationship that reads like uneasy cohabitation with a weaponized part of yourself. Their partnership works because the dialogue sounds like two people who trust each other with ugly truths, but still know where to press to get a reaction.
Underneath the hauntings, the book is about desire as a moral weather system. Virgil wants to give Leonie a miracle, and to prove he can. Leonie wants wonder without paying the full bill. Brix wants Abby back, or failing that, wants to keep her close enough that letting go never becomes real. Belle wants control over the monster in her and the monster that once tried to own her. Over all of it hangs the Hollow Queen, a figure of hunger so pure it reads like a law of nature. The emotional core lands because the book doesn’t treat “let the dead go” as a platitude. It treats it as a brutal, daily choice, and sometimes as a kind of violence you do to yourself for the sake of living.
If you’re a frequent BWAF reader, you’ve come to know my distaste for fantasy, but this is a surprising exception. My only real caveat is density. The book loves liminal logic, and if you want hard rules and clean explanations, you might feel unmoored. If you like haunted glamor, fairy-tale cruelty, and horror that keeps asking what you would sacrifice for love, this is absolutely your bone road.
Read if “haunted hotel” is your love language, especially when the building is actively pissed you’re alive.
Skip if you want big jump-scare pacing over slow, elegant dread with emotional aftertaste.
April 27, 2026
Now this was an interesting read. It’s a gothic urban fantasy blended with the paranormal and the fae - is that a thing? If not, it is now, as I am not sure how else to describe it. I would recommend this book to people that enjoyed S.T. Gibson’s The Summoner’s Circle series. There are a few things that almost made me feel like I was back in that world.
In this story, we are following a couple of different characters, and I would also say a couple of interconnected storylines. While reading, it felt like the story was moving along at a slower pace, but upon reflection, there was a lot that happened within its short number of pages. The world building was quite intricate, as was the plot itself, however, I felt that some of the character development wasn’t as in depth as I would have liked. Belle’s character was, in my opinion, the most developed out of all of them.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but would not recommend it to just anyone. There were some rather dark aspects of the story and I can say that it’s not for everyone and is probably more of a niche book. The synopsis does a good job of letting the audience know what to expect, so you can see from that if it’s something that would suit you. I also recommend checking out any trigger warnings, if that is something that concerns you.
Many thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are given freely and are honest and my own.
In this story, we are following a couple of different characters, and I would also say a couple of interconnected storylines. While reading, it felt like the story was moving along at a slower pace, but upon reflection, there was a lot that happened within its short number of pages. The world building was quite intricate, as was the plot itself, however, I felt that some of the character development wasn’t as in depth as I would have liked. Belle’s character was, in my opinion, the most developed out of all of them.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but would not recommend it to just anyone. There were some rather dark aspects of the story and I can say that it’s not for everyone and is probably more of a niche book. The synopsis does a good job of letting the audience know what to expect, so you can see from that if it’s something that would suit you. I also recommend checking out any trigger warnings, if that is something that concerns you.
Many thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are given freely and are honest and my own.
February 18, 2026
It was just … ok.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the audiobook, it just felt like there something missing.
The relationships were lacking in any kind of build up. Threesome with a ghost just BAM, out of nowhere. Belle immediately hooking up with her demon with zero background of that relationship? You had to try figuring out what was going on with the relationships pretty quickly.
I also thought that it would be more of them working together based on the description, but it was different storylines. Yes, they wound up connecting but it wasn’t what I thought it would be.
HOWEVER, it was an enjoyable, quick audiobook.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the audiobook, it just felt like there something missing.
The relationships were lacking in any kind of build up. Threesome with a ghost just BAM, out of nowhere. Belle immediately hooking up with her demon with zero background of that relationship? You had to try figuring out what was going on with the relationships pretty quickly.
I also thought that it would be more of them working together based on the description, but it was different storylines. Yes, they wound up connecting but it wasn’t what I thought it would be.
HOWEVER, it was an enjoyable, quick audiobook.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2026
Did I completly understand what happenend? No. Not at all. But honestly the vibes were immaculate. I feel like if I reread it and actually annotate it, I would understand. There is a lot of symbolic about grief and want and pain and guilt in it and I appreciate that a lot. I also really enjoyed Belle and Brix, I only wished that they actually worked together more than they did. Somehow I would love a book where they actually work together and maybe some more infos about the fae and the hollow queen because I feel like the worldbuilding went so much deeper than it was depicted here and I'd actually love to know more.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Dark fantasy that takes you on an interesting journey.
I liked the idea of the haunted hotel- not a new concept but has endless possibilities - and the addition of The Hollow Queen separates it from a traditional haunting.
Virgil is out of his depth but eager to please. Love can be destructive whether you mean it to be or not. We see that appears in a number of ways in this story. What he starts reignites something close to Belle's heart and she's pulled into a situation she's all to familiar with.
Brix is an interesting character and you can understand his rule breaking although you expect him to know better particularly as we know actions have consequences. He is best placed to help Virgil and the support he provides ultimately helps them both.
Brix and Belle make a good team- a little unconventional but interesting and fun. They've got very different back stories but it doesn't make a difference to their friendship or support they provide each other.
This is quite interesting as love restricts as much as it sets free in this. There's darkness in this love story love and the light, whilst appealing, is a danger rather than something positive.
I liked the idea of the haunted hotel- not a new concept but has endless possibilities - and the addition of The Hollow Queen separates it from a traditional haunting.
Virgil is out of his depth but eager to please. Love can be destructive whether you mean it to be or not. We see that appears in a number of ways in this story. What he starts reignites something close to Belle's heart and she's pulled into a situation she's all to familiar with.
Brix is an interesting character and you can understand his rule breaking although you expect him to know better particularly as we know actions have consequences. He is best placed to help Virgil and the support he provides ultimately helps them both.
Brix and Belle make a good team- a little unconventional but interesting and fun. They've got very different back stories but it doesn't make a difference to their friendship or support they provide each other.
This is quite interesting as love restricts as much as it sets free in this. There's darkness in this love story love and the light, whilst appealing, is a danger rather than something positive.
Read
March 12, 2026A.C. Wise's Ballad of the Broken Road carries a crime fiction feeling into a United States haunted by the ashes of a fae golden age. It's a bit strange, a hint sensual, and perfect for readers who enjoy a taste of the uncanny. Read Tobias Carroll's full review.
February 23, 2026
A fabulous crossover of fantasy and horror with a touch of vintage glamour. A cast of characters that intrigued me from the start . A must read
Thank you to Titan books for the ARC
Thank you to Titan books for the ARC
March 15, 2026
What an amazing book. I really enjoyed the journey between worlds and such amazing heartfelt and flawed characters. Very much enjoyed.
October 21, 2025
Ballad of the Bone Road immediately caught my attention with its stunning cover and dark/mysterious vibe. I’ve been on a big vampire book kick lately, and while there aren’t any vampires here (😞), it still gave me that same moody, gothic energy I loveeeee
A.C. Wise’s writing is incredibly lyrical and vivid. Sometimes wildly imaginative in a way that made the world feel dreamlike and strange (or like maybe you are on a bunch of acid). Port Astor is full of ghosts, fae echoes, and haunted corners, and while I would have loved to learn a bit more about its history, the atmosphere was compelling and rich
Brix and Bellefeather make for an intriguing duo, both carrying their own grief and demons (literally and figuratively). Much of the story explores what it means to hold on when you should let go, and Wise handles those emotional beats totally beautifully. Though the pair spend much of the book apart and the two storylines can feel a little chaotic when they merge, I appreciated how distinct and layered each thread felt.
One thing I wish is that this was turning into a series. I love the idea of a paranormal duo who conquers the town of Port Astor together, but with this being a standalone, I feel the want for more! I am left with a slight void..
Overall this was an eerie and emotional and gorgeously written story that will linger with me. I’d definitely recommend it!
A.C. Wise’s writing is incredibly lyrical and vivid. Sometimes wildly imaginative in a way that made the world feel dreamlike and strange (or like maybe you are on a bunch of acid). Port Astor is full of ghosts, fae echoes, and haunted corners, and while I would have loved to learn a bit more about its history, the atmosphere was compelling and rich
Brix and Bellefeather make for an intriguing duo, both carrying their own grief and demons (literally and figuratively). Much of the story explores what it means to hold on when you should let go, and Wise handles those emotional beats totally beautifully. Though the pair spend much of the book apart and the two storylines can feel a little chaotic when they merge, I appreciated how distinct and layered each thread felt.
One thing I wish is that this was turning into a series. I love the idea of a paranormal duo who conquers the town of Port Astor together, but with this being a standalone, I feel the want for more! I am left with a slight void..
Overall this was an eerie and emotional and gorgeously written story that will linger with me. I’d definitely recommend it!
October 29, 2025
What a beautiful, magical book! I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
A hotel is always a wonderful setting for a spectral story but this book just went to a whole other level with the setting. It was magnificent.
This takes place in a fascinating city called Port Astor. It feels reminiscent of art deco New York with some Hollywood noir elements. There is magic and there are ghosts. The city is sitting at a point in history where magical beings are largely gone from recent memory. However there are remnants. We have two people who run an agency that deals with supernatural occurrences. Very private investigator, but with ghosts. It works so well.
Our investigators are looking into strange happenings at a hotel. A disappearing room, a manager who ignores it to preserve appearances, and things that feel very wrong. What they encounter is beyond anything they’ve seen before.
Our characters both have baggage and this motivates them and influences their decisions. It brings dangerous consequences. It makes them feel so fleshed out too.
I was fascinated by this story. It’s magical, spectral, dark at times with the most astonishingly captivating setting
A hotel is always a wonderful setting for a spectral story but this book just went to a whole other level with the setting. It was magnificent.
This takes place in a fascinating city called Port Astor. It feels reminiscent of art deco New York with some Hollywood noir elements. There is magic and there are ghosts. The city is sitting at a point in history where magical beings are largely gone from recent memory. However there are remnants. We have two people who run an agency that deals with supernatural occurrences. Very private investigator, but with ghosts. It works so well.
Our investigators are looking into strange happenings at a hotel. A disappearing room, a manager who ignores it to preserve appearances, and things that feel very wrong. What they encounter is beyond anything they’ve seen before.
Our characters both have baggage and this motivates them and influences their decisions. It brings dangerous consequences. It makes them feel so fleshed out too.
I was fascinated by this story. It’s magical, spectral, dark at times with the most astonishingly captivating setting
October 13, 2025
Huge Thanks to Titan books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I discovered AC Wise via the Peter Pan retellings, which I loved. More recently I read Out of the Drowning Deep, which was a little too abstract for me.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a dark fantasy which sits happily inbetween.
There is a lot happening in just over 300 pages - demonic possession, ghosts, spirits, fae, alternating timelines… all centred around an Overlook-esque haunted hotel which has a dark past filled with secrets.
I’d recommend this for anyone who enjoyed The Near Witch by VE Schwab or A Sorceress Come to Call by T.Kingfisher
I discovered AC Wise via the Peter Pan retellings, which I loved. More recently I read Out of the Drowning Deep, which was a little too abstract for me.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a dark fantasy which sits happily inbetween.
There is a lot happening in just over 300 pages - demonic possession, ghosts, spirits, fae, alternating timelines… all centred around an Overlook-esque haunted hotel which has a dark past filled with secrets.
I’d recommend this for anyone who enjoyed The Near Witch by VE Schwab or A Sorceress Come to Call by T.Kingfisher
October 29, 2025
Ballad of the Bone Road is a darkly atmospheric, immersive story that blends horror, mystery, and richly drawn characters into a haunting narrative. A.C. Wise’s writing is vivid and lyrical, creating a sense of place and mood that is both eerie and captivating.
The plot weaves suspense, danger, and human vulnerability in a way that keeps you engaged from start to finish. The characters are compelling and complex, their struggles and choices lending the story emotional depth amid the tension.
Fans of dark fiction, horror, and character-driven suspense will find Ballad of the Bone Road a gripping, memorable read that lingers long after the final page.
The plot weaves suspense, danger, and human vulnerability in a way that keeps you engaged from start to finish. The characters are compelling and complex, their struggles and choices lending the story emotional depth amid the tension.
Fans of dark fiction, horror, and character-driven suspense will find Ballad of the Bone Road a gripping, memorable read that lingers long after the final page.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Ballad of the Bone Road is a golden-age-of Hollywood urban fantasy. Set in a country that is maybe 80% 1960s Los Angeles with a hint of the United Kingdom, in a world in which the fae walked, until they didn’t. It is a mix of styles and ideas that struggles to work, held together by a plot involving pair of flawed investigators and two different but related cases.
Belleweather and Sydney Brix are partners in some sort of investigation agency that clearly does not make money by charging its clients. The city they live in, Port Astor, is, presumably, supposed to be like Los Angeles in the 1960s. It also used to host the fae but for some reason, never really explained, the fae all picked up and left about forty years before and their access to the human world was blocked off using iron by wealthy industrialists. The pair are intrigued when someone comes to them claiming that a room at the famous Peony Hotel has disappeared. Before they can get to far into that investigation, Belleweather’s estranged sister Dee comes to town to ask for her help with her preacher husband who she fears is having an affair.
Belleweather and Brix have issues of their own. Brix is a ghost whispered with access to something called the Bone Road, which is where ghosts go when they depart this relam. But Brix has used his power to keep the ghost of his girlfriend in the world because he cannot stand to let her go. Meanwhile Belleweather plays host to a demon who lives within her flesh. Part of the reason she found herself running away from her fundamentalist family. The two jobs that they go on – the haunting at the hotel and the possibly possessed preacher - play directly into their issues, complicating the situation somewhat.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a little overstuffed and not everything about it makes a whole lot of sense. Wise draws on a range of different mystical traditions – the fae, the wild hunt, ghosts – but not in a way that is always coherent or at least well explained. She does not give a sense of what the world was like when the fae were there to allow readers to understand how it has changed. And her main antagonist seems to be fae but maybe not the same as those others.
Some of this does not really matter so long as reader’s buy into the premise. The characters are engaging, the setting is stylish and the plot barrels along, leaving little time to worry about trying to understand exactly what is going on and how it works (for example, who exactly is the Hollow Queen and what does she want? Why do some people have access to the Bone Road? Why does Brix seem to talk with a kind of British access and call everyone “luv”?). So while there is some enjoyment to be had with Ballad of the Bone Road, it does end up missing the mark.
Belleweather and Sydney Brix are partners in some sort of investigation agency that clearly does not make money by charging its clients. The city they live in, Port Astor, is, presumably, supposed to be like Los Angeles in the 1960s. It also used to host the fae but for some reason, never really explained, the fae all picked up and left about forty years before and their access to the human world was blocked off using iron by wealthy industrialists. The pair are intrigued when someone comes to them claiming that a room at the famous Peony Hotel has disappeared. Before they can get to far into that investigation, Belleweather’s estranged sister Dee comes to town to ask for her help with her preacher husband who she fears is having an affair.
Belleweather and Brix have issues of their own. Brix is a ghost whispered with access to something called the Bone Road, which is where ghosts go when they depart this relam. But Brix has used his power to keep the ghost of his girlfriend in the world because he cannot stand to let her go. Meanwhile Belleweather plays host to a demon who lives within her flesh. Part of the reason she found herself running away from her fundamentalist family. The two jobs that they go on – the haunting at the hotel and the possibly possessed preacher - play directly into their issues, complicating the situation somewhat.
Ballad of the Bone Road is a little overstuffed and not everything about it makes a whole lot of sense. Wise draws on a range of different mystical traditions – the fae, the wild hunt, ghosts – but not in a way that is always coherent or at least well explained. She does not give a sense of what the world was like when the fae were there to allow readers to understand how it has changed. And her main antagonist seems to be fae but maybe not the same as those others.
Some of this does not really matter so long as reader’s buy into the premise. The characters are engaging, the setting is stylish and the plot barrels along, leaving little time to worry about trying to understand exactly what is going on and how it works (for example, who exactly is the Hollow Queen and what does she want? Why do some people have access to the Bone Road? Why does Brix seem to talk with a kind of British access and call everyone “luv”?). So while there is some enjoyment to be had with Ballad of the Bone Road, it does end up missing the mark.
February 7, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 / 5)
🌒 Ghosts, Grief, and the Roads We Refuse to Leave Behind ✨
“Ballad of the Bone Road” by A.C. Wise is the kind of story that slowly wraps itself around you in a cozy and slightly spooky bundle. It blends paranormal mystery, found family, and heartbreaking loss in a way that feels thoughtful and deliberate, even when it isn’t always comfortable.
The story follows Brix and Bellefeather, partners who investigate supernatural disturbances in a city where ghosts are simply part of the landscape. But neither of them is untouched by the things that they chase. Brix is still bound to the spirit of someone he loved and lost, while Belle carries her own complicated history - both personal and supernatural - that shapes how she moves through the world.
What I loved most about this book is how much it focuses on emotional haunting as much as literal haunting. Every character seems to be carrying something unresolved: regret, guilt, grief, or fear of letting go. The supernatural elements never feel like they exist just for spectacle. Rather, they are always tied to something human and painful beneath the surface.
Port Astor itself is a setting wonderfully imagined. It feels alive, layered, and slightly off-kilter, like a place where the past and present are constantly brushing up against each other. The Peony Hotel, in particular, was a standout setting, full of atmosphere and quiet dread.
The pacing is slower and more reflective than I expected, which mostly worked for me. There were moments where I wished certain plot threads had been explored a little more deeply, or that some emotional conversations had lingered longer. Still, the overall mood and character development kept me invested.
To me, this isn’t a fast, action-heavy paranormal story. It’s more introspective, more focused on healing and reckoning than on shock or scares. And for the right reader, that’s exactly what makes it special.
“Ballad of the Bone Road” is a haunting, compassionate story about love, loss, and learning when (and how) to let go. It has stayed with me long after I finished it which is always the mark of a meaningful read.
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, author A.C. Wise, and the publisher Titan Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
💬 Do you enjoy paranormal stories that lean into emotional depth and quiet atmosphere, or do you prefer your ghost stories darker and more intense?
🌒 Ghosts, Grief, and the Roads We Refuse to Leave Behind ✨
“Ballad of the Bone Road” by A.C. Wise is the kind of story that slowly wraps itself around you in a cozy and slightly spooky bundle. It blends paranormal mystery, found family, and heartbreaking loss in a way that feels thoughtful and deliberate, even when it isn’t always comfortable.
The story follows Brix and Bellefeather, partners who investigate supernatural disturbances in a city where ghosts are simply part of the landscape. But neither of them is untouched by the things that they chase. Brix is still bound to the spirit of someone he loved and lost, while Belle carries her own complicated history - both personal and supernatural - that shapes how she moves through the world.
What I loved most about this book is how much it focuses on emotional haunting as much as literal haunting. Every character seems to be carrying something unresolved: regret, guilt, grief, or fear of letting go. The supernatural elements never feel like they exist just for spectacle. Rather, they are always tied to something human and painful beneath the surface.
Port Astor itself is a setting wonderfully imagined. It feels alive, layered, and slightly off-kilter, like a place where the past and present are constantly brushing up against each other. The Peony Hotel, in particular, was a standout setting, full of atmosphere and quiet dread.
The pacing is slower and more reflective than I expected, which mostly worked for me. There were moments where I wished certain plot threads had been explored a little more deeply, or that some emotional conversations had lingered longer. Still, the overall mood and character development kept me invested.
To me, this isn’t a fast, action-heavy paranormal story. It’s more introspective, more focused on healing and reckoning than on shock or scares. And for the right reader, that’s exactly what makes it special.
“Ballad of the Bone Road” is a haunting, compassionate story about love, loss, and learning when (and how) to let go. It has stayed with me long after I finished it which is always the mark of a meaningful read.
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, author A.C. Wise, and the publisher Titan Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
💬 Do you enjoy paranormal stories that lean into emotional depth and quiet atmosphere, or do you prefer your ghost stories darker and more intense?
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received a free copy from Titan Books via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Release date January 27th, 2026.
The striking cover and intriguing paranormal investigator premise of this novel caught my eye. In Ballad of the Bone Road, paranormal investigators Brix and Belle run an agency for solving supernatural problems in a city where the fae have been banished. Just as they begin to investigate a haunted hotel, Belle is called away to help her estranged sister, who has been entangled in a new cult—and the two cases may be more closely linked than they think.
I've read a novella by Wise (Out of the Drowning Deep), and I was willing to give her work another shot. Unfortunately, Ballad of the Bone Road, despite the excellent premise, did not click for me. There's a lot of good concepts floating around here. Belle is deeply traumatized by her abusive religious upbringing and has sheltered a demon in her own body since she was a child. Brix clings to the ghost of his dead wife against all his professional ethics as a paranormal investigator. Much of the action is set in a glamorous, haunted Belle Epoque hotel. But somehow none of this worked for me. Part of this is due to setting up a really good non-romantic buddy investigator duo and then separating them for ninety percent of the plot. But beyond that, the worldbuilding felt very thin. What appears on page is great, but I felt it didn't have real depth. Great worldbuilding is grounded by details that are referred to casually but left mostly in shadow. Here, setpieces like the hotel, the faded ghost of a rock star, the vengeful fae queen are illuminated, but everything else is left completely undefined.
Alas, this is not very useful as a review, since I can't quite put my finger on the reason for the slippery ungrabbiness of characters and plot. But since I had the same experience with Wise's previous novella, I'm not inclined to chalk it up to an off day. Ah well. I do appreciate not jamming in the obligatory m/f romance between the protagonists. But I wouldn't be inclined to pick up another book by Wise unless it had a very good premise.
The striking cover and intriguing paranormal investigator premise of this novel caught my eye. In Ballad of the Bone Road, paranormal investigators Brix and Belle run an agency for solving supernatural problems in a city where the fae have been banished. Just as they begin to investigate a haunted hotel, Belle is called away to help her estranged sister, who has been entangled in a new cult—and the two cases may be more closely linked than they think.
I've read a novella by Wise (Out of the Drowning Deep), and I was willing to give her work another shot. Unfortunately, Ballad of the Bone Road, despite the excellent premise, did not click for me. There's a lot of good concepts floating around here. Belle is deeply traumatized by her abusive religious upbringing and has sheltered a demon in her own body since she was a child. Brix clings to the ghost of his dead wife against all his professional ethics as a paranormal investigator. Much of the action is set in a glamorous, haunted Belle Epoque hotel. But somehow none of this worked for me. Part of this is due to setting up a really good non-romantic buddy investigator duo and then separating them for ninety percent of the plot. But beyond that, the worldbuilding felt very thin. What appears on page is great, but I felt it didn't have real depth. Great worldbuilding is grounded by details that are referred to casually but left mostly in shadow. Here, setpieces like the hotel, the faded ghost of a rock star, the vengeful fae queen are illuminated, but everything else is left completely undefined.
Alas, this is not very useful as a review, since I can't quite put my finger on the reason for the slippery ungrabbiness of characters and plot. But since I had the same experience with Wise's previous novella, I'm not inclined to chalk it up to an off day. Ah well. I do appreciate not jamming in the obligatory m/f romance between the protagonists. But I wouldn't be inclined to pick up another book by Wise unless it had a very good premise.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book follows two paranormal investigators, Brix and Bellefeather, through their investigations of supernatural activity involving the dead musician and film star Jimmy Valantine at the luxurious Peony Hotel in the very very haunted Port Astor.
The worldbuilding was really mysterious. The story was set more or less present day but made lots of references to how the Fae once lived in Port Astor until ‘they all disappeared’.
The supernatural seems to be quite common knowledge in the world although not necessarily liked or accepted.
The main characters are described as experienced investigators with a lot of knowledge of the supernatural. Brix is a medium who can help ghosts move on and has protective tattoos and carries a bag of various ‘ghost hunting’ equipment with him while Bellefeather shares her body with a demon who was once enslaved by the Fae.
Despite this they get out of their depth almost immediately and their knowledge, skills and abilities are little help as the story progresses around them.
Despite this small critique, what stood out with Ballad of the Bone Road was the writing.
The description of the hauntings, the reality bending magic and how this affected the characters perceptions of what was real was incredible. Being able to portray a character fighting to hold their attention on something as supernatural forces try to make them forget and making it feel real to the reader is incredible talent.
The relationships were all so well imagined and written and seemed natural and believable despite the strangeness of the situations. Brix and his wife's ghost, where they both know he should let go but can’t, Bellefeather and her demon Belizial and their being drawn together by similar past traumas as well as Jimmy Valantine’s tragic romances with everyone else.
Individually the characters development was also so beautifully described. These wonderfully written character arcs and relationships were so well woven into the actual plot that even the ‘slower’ parts of the story were captivating.
A.C.Wise had an incredible imagination and talent to match. I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you TitanBooks for my proof copy
The worldbuilding was really mysterious. The story was set more or less present day but made lots of references to how the Fae once lived in Port Astor until ‘they all disappeared’.
The supernatural seems to be quite common knowledge in the world although not necessarily liked or accepted.
The main characters are described as experienced investigators with a lot of knowledge of the supernatural. Brix is a medium who can help ghosts move on and has protective tattoos and carries a bag of various ‘ghost hunting’ equipment with him while Bellefeather shares her body with a demon who was once enslaved by the Fae.
Despite this they get out of their depth almost immediately and their knowledge, skills and abilities are little help as the story progresses around them.
Despite this small critique, what stood out with Ballad of the Bone Road was the writing.
The description of the hauntings, the reality bending magic and how this affected the characters perceptions of what was real was incredible. Being able to portray a character fighting to hold their attention on something as supernatural forces try to make them forget and making it feel real to the reader is incredible talent.
The relationships were all so well imagined and written and seemed natural and believable despite the strangeness of the situations. Brix and his wife's ghost, where they both know he should let go but can’t, Bellefeather and her demon Belizial and their being drawn together by similar past traumas as well as Jimmy Valantine’s tragic romances with everyone else.
Individually the characters development was also so beautifully described. These wonderfully written character arcs and relationships were so well woven into the actual plot that even the ‘slower’ parts of the story were captivating.
A.C.Wise had an incredible imagination and talent to match. I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you TitanBooks for my proof copy
March 15, 2026
Port Astor is the kind of city where you probably shouldn’t trust alleyways, mirrors, suspiciously quiet hotels… or honestly anything after dark. Naturally, I loved it.
Ballad of the Bone Road drops you into a wonderfully eerie world where the fae used to rule, but humans have pushed them out (or so they think). Underneath the industrial grime and religious authority, the city is still tangled with hidden roads, ghosts, and things that really should come with a warning label.
Our guides through this delightful supernatural chaos are Brix and Bellefeather. Paranormal investigators with baggage. And by baggage I mean: Bellefeather shares her body with a demon (Belezial, who has opinions), and Brix is carrying around the ghost of his dead fiancée because… well… letting go is hard. Emotional therapy? Never heard of it.
The story splits between two investigations: • A haunting at the Peony Hotel involving a tragic movie star ghost who may or may not have been the Hollow Queen’s favourite. • Bellefeather returning home to deal with a deeply unsettling situation involving a preacher, a possessed congregation, and a pregnancy that is very much not normal.
So yes. Things escalate quickly.
What I really loved about this book is the atmosphere. It’s gothic, gritty, a little weird, and completely immersive. Port Astor feels alive! like every street corner has a story and at least one ghost who refuses to leave. The characters are messy in the best way, carrying grief, guilt, and supernatural roommates while trying to stop things from getting worse.
And looming over everything is the Hollow Queen and the fae, who are definitely not done with the city that used to belong to them.
Dark, strange, and packed with supernatural intrigue, this was a really fun urban fantasy with bite.
Also, as a general life rule: if a ghost movie star shows up in your hotel room… maybe just check out early.
Ballad of the Bone Road drops you into a wonderfully eerie world where the fae used to rule, but humans have pushed them out (or so they think). Underneath the industrial grime and religious authority, the city is still tangled with hidden roads, ghosts, and things that really should come with a warning label.
Our guides through this delightful supernatural chaos are Brix and Bellefeather. Paranormal investigators with baggage. And by baggage I mean: Bellefeather shares her body with a demon (Belezial, who has opinions), and Brix is carrying around the ghost of his dead fiancée because… well… letting go is hard. Emotional therapy? Never heard of it.
The story splits between two investigations: • A haunting at the Peony Hotel involving a tragic movie star ghost who may or may not have been the Hollow Queen’s favourite. • Bellefeather returning home to deal with a deeply unsettling situation involving a preacher, a possessed congregation, and a pregnancy that is very much not normal.
So yes. Things escalate quickly.
What I really loved about this book is the atmosphere. It’s gothic, gritty, a little weird, and completely immersive. Port Astor feels alive! like every street corner has a story and at least one ghost who refuses to leave. The characters are messy in the best way, carrying grief, guilt, and supernatural roommates while trying to stop things from getting worse.
And looming over everything is the Hollow Queen and the fae, who are definitely not done with the city that used to belong to them.
Dark, strange, and packed with supernatural intrigue, this was a really fun urban fantasy with bite.
Also, as a general life rule: if a ghost movie star shows up in your hotel room… maybe just check out early.
January 11, 2026
Ballad of the Bone Road by A.C. Wise initially caught my eye because of it's striking cover but the premise of paranormal investigators and a haunted hotel convinced me that this was a book I needed to read.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators in the city of Port Astor, once home to the courts of the Fae before they abandoned the city vanishing without trace. In the decades that have passed the city has tried to forget but now it seems that the Hollow Queen wants the city back, and this Fae queen is willing to put up a fight.
I really enjoyed the characters of Brix and Bellefeather, each of whom faced their own personal struggles. Brix is holding on to the ghost of his dead fiancee, unwilling to let her travel the bone road to what ever lies ahead, instead he has trapped her soul in the world of the living. Bellefeather shares her body with a demon, Belizial, whose trauma at the hands of the Fae court is matched only by Belle's own past religious trauma at the hands of her own family who abused her horribly in numerous exorcism attempts. For me these characters were the most interesting part of the book and I would have loved to spend more time learning about their individual stories and how they came to team up together. Instead the main focus of the plot is on the haunting of the glamorous Peony Hotel by the ghost of a former silver screen idol summoned by a young couple who find themselves out of their depth very quickly. While parts of this story were interesting, especially the possession elements , it did not hold my interest the way I had hoped, nor did the other major plotline that had cult like overtones so I found what should have been the climax of the book to be rather underwhelming.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators in the city of Port Astor, once home to the courts of the Fae before they abandoned the city vanishing without trace. In the decades that have passed the city has tried to forget but now it seems that the Hollow Queen wants the city back, and this Fae queen is willing to put up a fight.
I really enjoyed the characters of Brix and Bellefeather, each of whom faced their own personal struggles. Brix is holding on to the ghost of his dead fiancee, unwilling to let her travel the bone road to what ever lies ahead, instead he has trapped her soul in the world of the living. Bellefeather shares her body with a demon, Belizial, whose trauma at the hands of the Fae court is matched only by Belle's own past religious trauma at the hands of her own family who abused her horribly in numerous exorcism attempts. For me these characters were the most interesting part of the book and I would have loved to spend more time learning about their individual stories and how they came to team up together. Instead the main focus of the plot is on the haunting of the glamorous Peony Hotel by the ghost of a former silver screen idol summoned by a young couple who find themselves out of their depth very quickly. While parts of this story were interesting, especially the possession elements , it did not hold my interest the way I had hoped, nor did the other major plotline that had cult like overtones so I found what should have been the climax of the book to be rather underwhelming.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Port Aster was once the seat of power for the beautifully brutal fae courts... before they seemingly up and left Port Aster 40 years ago... now Port Aster is a shell of what it used to be.... haunted by spirits and ghosts of the past.... haunted by its once colorful history...and these spirits want to take Port Aster for their own.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators, finding themselves in the city to investigate these haunts, these spirits and ghosts of the past.... They both are all too familiar with these sorts of activities, as Brix has trapped the soul of his dead fiancée in the world of the living and Belle shares her body with a demon.
And when they meet a couple with a concerning connection to one of Port Aster's most infamous tales at the notoriously haunted Peony Hotel... they soon realize that this is not just any specter... nor is it any normal ghost.
The "ghost" of Jimmy Valentine is here for a reason....
For the fae never forget.
And they are coming back to take what is theirs back for the Hollow Queen.
This is a short, and yet none-the-less fantastical sort of read... that borders on the dark in a most beautiful sort of fashion. The idea behind Ballad of the Bone Road is deliciously haunting, and the premise is nothing short of flawless. However, while the world is beautifully made, and I adore the very many mystical and fantastical elements that are involved in Ballad of the Bone Road, there were a few grating flaws that I just didn't feel comfortable in giving this book a five-star rating no matter how amazing most of it is.
For one thing, while I usually am quite welcoming of multiple POVs, especially from main characters, I feel like these POVs could have most definitely had a bit more thought put into their execution... because this turned-out way clutzier than anything I've read in a bit...it's almost as if two novellas from the two characters were somewhat hodge-ploddingly mashed together with actions to be way too busy sometimes... another thing that I found intensely grating were the fact that the "spicier" side of things just sounded .. awkward at best and randomly inserted in at worst... to be honest I probably would've been fine without any spice at all.
Overall, though, this was still a deeply gothic, haunting, somewhat horrific novel that I quite enjoyed, and I hope that you too will delight in Ballad of the Bone Road as I have.
Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for this copy to read in advanced, I am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and the rest of my reviews can be found at: https://littlereapling.wixsite.com/fa....
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators, finding themselves in the city to investigate these haunts, these spirits and ghosts of the past.... They both are all too familiar with these sorts of activities, as Brix has trapped the soul of his dead fiancée in the world of the living and Belle shares her body with a demon.
And when they meet a couple with a concerning connection to one of Port Aster's most infamous tales at the notoriously haunted Peony Hotel... they soon realize that this is not just any specter... nor is it any normal ghost.
The "ghost" of Jimmy Valentine is here for a reason....
For the fae never forget.
And they are coming back to take what is theirs back for the Hollow Queen.
This is a short, and yet none-the-less fantastical sort of read... that borders on the dark in a most beautiful sort of fashion. The idea behind Ballad of the Bone Road is deliciously haunting, and the premise is nothing short of flawless. However, while the world is beautifully made, and I adore the very many mystical and fantastical elements that are involved in Ballad of the Bone Road, there were a few grating flaws that I just didn't feel comfortable in giving this book a five-star rating no matter how amazing most of it is.
For one thing, while I usually am quite welcoming of multiple POVs, especially from main characters, I feel like these POVs could have most definitely had a bit more thought put into their execution... because this turned-out way clutzier than anything I've read in a bit...it's almost as if two novellas from the two characters were somewhat hodge-ploddingly mashed together with actions to be way too busy sometimes... another thing that I found intensely grating were the fact that the "spicier" side of things just sounded .. awkward at best and randomly inserted in at worst... to be honest I probably would've been fine without any spice at all.
Overall, though, this was still a deeply gothic, haunting, somewhat horrific novel that I quite enjoyed, and I hope that you too will delight in Ballad of the Bone Road as I have.
Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for this copy to read in advanced, I am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and the rest of my reviews can be found at: https://littlereapling.wixsite.com/fa....
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Ballad of the Bone Road by A.C. Wise is a fantasy novel about two paranormal investigators who look into strange happenings in a ghost-prone area.
I’d like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Titan Books, and the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the book. It was a fast and entertaining read.
The characters were really interesting, the good and the bad. By showing both their strengths and their weaknesses, the author made them real. Now, some of the characters had only evil on their minds, but we got to see the good side of Belle, Brix, Dee, Even Jimmy. However. I felt the Hollow Queen was lacking. I don't think her storyline was enough. It was lacking substance, and her back-story felt weak.
The overall plot was good, and looked into the idea of "letting go", and how hard it can be to lose a loved one. It also looked at families, and how two sisters who grew up in the same house, can have such different experiences and memories, yet expect the other to share their interests and goals. I felt that both the look at grief and guilt was really well done.
I'll be surprised if this is not turned into a series.
Anyway, until next time ....
For a more thorough review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, my own synopsis of the book, and its author information), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
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